College Notes: Black History Month highlighted at Peralta Colleges

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A detail is shown from one of the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland’s handmade quilts that will be on display at Laney College throughout February in honor of Black History Month. (African American Quilt Guild of Oakland)

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Midwinter is usually a time for hunkering down. Not so at our local community colleges, where February is one of the busiest months of the year.

There are a plethora of events at Berkeley City College, College of Alameda, Laney College and Merritt College this month in commemoration of Black History Month. Let’s take a look at just a few of these events, all of which are free and open to everyone.

At Merritt College, the birthplace of the Black Panther Party, the African American Studies Program and the Black Student Union, is presenting a number of events in the Huey Newton and Bobby Seale Student Lounge. On Feb. 22, from noon until 2 p.m., there will be a film screening and discussion with Khalid White entitled “Black Fatherhood: Trails and Tribulations.” Then on Feb. 28, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Jason Seals will facilitate a forum, “Awakening the Natural Genius of Black Children.” You will not want to miss these enlightening events at the hilltop college. Merritt College is at 12500 Campus Drive in Oakland.

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Throughout the month of February, the Laney College library will have two displays up to honor Black History Month. There is an African American postage stamp collection on display in the library as well as the African American Quilt Guild of Oakland’s showing of hand-made quilts. To learn more about these inspirational displays, please contact librarian Reginald Constant at 510-986-6947. Also at Laney on Feb. 28 from 2 to 4 p.m., at Eagle Village 2, there will be a teach-in, sponsored by Umoja-Ubaka, “Gentrification & Displacement in Oakland.” Laney College is located in the heart of Oakland at 900 Fallon St.

Berkeley City College has a number of Black History Month events as well. On Feb. 20, there will be an art show in the college’s atrium hosted by BCC’s Black Student Union. Then, on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22, the film “I’m Not Your Negro” will be screened in the college’s auditorium. And everyone will want to attend the closing celebration in BCC’s atrium put on in conjunction with the Black Student Union. For times and more information, contact Andre Singleton at 510-981-2877. BCC is just a block away from the downtown Berkeley BART station at 2050 Centre St.

Soul Mechanix, an Oakland-based soul and funk cover band, will be performing at College of Alameda’s SoulFest on Feb. 22. (Courtesy of Ashleigh Castro)

There will be dancing in the quad at College of Alameda during SoulFest 2018. This free outdoor musical event takes place from noon to 1 p.m. Feb. 22, and features Soul Mechanix, an Oakland-based soul and funk cover band. Join the fun at the island campus. Call 510-748-2327 for more details. College of Alameda is at 555 Ralph Appezzato Memorial Parkway.

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If you haven’t yet seen Peralta TV’s award winning film, “Merritt College: Home of the Black Panthers,” you will have a couple of opportunities to do so in February. Featuring exclusive interviews, the documentary, which is narrated by U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee, traces of the early days of the Panthers and the influence that Merritt College had on the group’s founders. You can watch the film Monday, Feb. 19 at 4 and 8 p.m., and on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 8:30 p.m. Peralta TV is seen on cable channel 27 in Alameda and Berkeley, cable channel 28 in Emeryville, Piedmont and Oakland and on AT&T U-verse channel 99.

Contact Jeffrey Heyman at jheyman@peralta.edu and follow him on Twitter at @JeffHeyman.

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Smuin Ballet has always been known for presenting eclectic and inventive programs. That’s definitely the case with its current “Dance Series 01,” which comes to Mountain View Center for the Arts Feb. 22-25. It’s a diverse combination of works. “I like to think of it as three independent short stories that are on one program,” said Smuin artistic director Celia...